HUNDREDS of lecturers and support staff walked out of the West College Scotland Greenock campus as a dispute over pay and concerns about cuts escalates.
Union leaders from both EIS-FELA (Educational Institute of Scotland - Further Education Lecuturers Association) and Unison joined forces on the 300-stong picket lines at Finnart Street to demand a 'fair deal' for staff and students.
Local lecturers were taking part in a national strike as part of a rolling programme of industrial action, which also includes work to rule.
Support services staff in the college were also on the strike on the same day as they call for further education bosses and the Scottish Government to rule out compulsory redundancies.
EIS Greenock campus secretary Mark Gillan said: "Together, we must stand up for our college services and end the horrendous cuts to further education.
"We are all fighting for the future of further education in Greenock and across the sector.
“We are always committed to our students, their learning, and their wellbeing.
"However, we have no other option left to us, after a whole year of failure by college employers to meaningfully engage in fair pay discussions without job losses.
"We have not had a pay increase agreed for over two years now, whilst household bills shoot through the roof."
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Mark added: "EIS-FELA members are fighting for the future of Further Education and against job losses.
"It is notable that Unison and Unite are also taking strike action, at the same time as EIS-FELA members, for the same reasons. It is a rolling programme of strike action throughout September and beyond."
College workers are urging further education minister Graeme Dey to step in and rule out compulsory redundancies.
At the Finnart Street campus EIS stood with Unison's further education branch secretary Chris Greenshields and colleague Collette Bradley.
Chris said: “College staff were due this pay increase a year ago. It’s unacceptable, even by the standards of the college sector, to take this long to agree a pay deal.
"The employers’ idea of a resolution to the crisis is to threaten our members with compulsory redundancy.
"Effectively members are being asked to pay for their own pay rise with their job, during a cost-of-living crisis.
"We need the same guarantee that has been given to the rest of the public sector that there will be no compulsory redundancies."
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